Katie Ashley - The Pairing

When it opened, Pesh’s breath caught. Appearing fresh-faced and clean, Megan looked so beautiful as she tentatively stepped into the bedroom. “Everything okay?” he asked.

She jumped at his voice. “Um, it’s fine. Thank you again for the clothes and for letting me shower.”

“You’re more than welcome. And there’s no need to thank me.”

Chewing on her lip, she glanced from the bed to him. “I texted my mother to tell her I was staying the night at Emma’s.” Before he could say anything, she quickly added, “Thank you for putting my purse in the bathroom. That was very thoughtful of you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied. Then he thought of her text. “So you’re staying at Aidan and Emma’s?” After all, the last thing he needed was to have her here—a reminder of what he couldn’t have. It would be enough to drive any man crazy.

Megan shook her head. “Do you mind if I stayed here instead?” When he started to open his mouth, she shook her head. “I promise no funny business. I just don’t want to go home yet. If you don’t want to me to stay, you can take me to Emma’s.”

“Of course you can stay.”

“I can sleep on the couch or in the guest room.”

He shook his head. “You’ll sleep right here.” He walked over to his massive king-sized bed. He turned down the covers before glancing back at her. “Come on. Getting some rest will make you feel better.”

She eyed him hesitantly. “I really can’t take your bed. That would be imposing.”

“I don’t mind. I promise.”

“Only if you’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Tentatively, she started walking over to him, her eyes never leaving his. She eased down onto the mattress before sliding beneath the sheets. When she appeared comfortable, he covered her up. As he started to go, she reached out to grab his arm. “No, please don’t go. Don’t leave me alone.”

His brows shot up in surprise. “You want me to stay with you?”

“Yes, please.”

“In this bed…with you?” When she nodded, he exhaled a ragged breath. “Megan, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Don’t overthink it; just stay with me.”

Although his brain was raging war at him to make the sane and responsible decision, he replied, “Give me a few minutes.”

“Okay,” she replied softly.

Turning, he strode into the bathroom. He didn’t bother glancing in the mirror because he was pretty sure he wouldn’t like what he saw. Instead, he stripped off his suit and tie. Although he probably should have thrown on more clothes, he left his boxers on and grabbed a white shirt off the hamper. After pulling it over his head, he went back out into the bedroom.

Megan lay on her side in the bed, her face turned toward the bathroom. Her eyes were closed, but they popped open the moment he entered the bedroom. Without a word to her, he walked around the other side of the bed and climbed inside. Lying on his back, he propped one arm over his head. His other hand rested on his chest. He twisted his fingers into the fabric of his shirt over his heart. Somehow he wanted to still the erratic beating.

Just when he thought he might be comfortable, Megan turned over to face him. “You’re so far away,” she whispered.

“I thought it was for the best.”

The corners of her mouth momentarily turned down in a pout. Then she inched closer to him. He sucked in a breath and tried not to hiss when he felt her head nuzzle against his chest. Before he could stop her, she had thrown an arm around him. Thankfully, she didn’t try anything else. And within a few minutes, her labored breathing signaled she had fallen asleep. Pesh stared up at the ceiling and willed himself to be able to go to sleep as easily.

Surprisingly, as Megan’s soft snores echoed against his side, his eyes grew heavy. For the first time in two years, he fell asleep with someone in his arms.

Sunlight streamed across Megan’s face, causing her to squint her eyes tighter closed against the bright invasion. She was warm and comfortable, and she didn’t want to wake up. But the tranquility of her morning was shattered when a soft snore came from behind her. It was far too deep to be one of Mason’s.

Panic prickled its way up her skin. Where am I? Her eyes frantically scanned the room. Overcome by both masculine décor and smells, she realized she was in a man’s bedroom, or more importantly a man’s bed. She hadn’t woken up this dazed and confused since she got hammered for the first time. She couldn’t even remember what day it was. This was bad. Very, very bad. She had to get out of there and get home to Mason. What kind of mother was she to wake up in a strange man’s bed?

As she tried to roll over, she found herself entrapped by a strong arm wrapped around her waist. Her gaze flicked down to the tan, muscled arm. Who the hell did that belong to? A whimper escaped her lips. Oh God, had she actually slept with a man she had no memory of? Never in her life had she made such a mistake as that. Nausea overcame her, and she knew she needed to get out of bed and into the bathroom.

She shoved herself so hard away from the person that she ended up elbowing him in the ribs. He groaned. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she quickly apologized.

“It’s okay, Megan,” he murmured drowsily.

That voice. It took only a second for her to register who she was in bed with. And with that realization, everything from the night before came crashing down on her. She had accidentally gotten drunk off her ass, Pesh had taken her to his house to sober up, and then…oh God, she had come on to him like a brazen floozy. She buried her head in her hands and moaned.

“Hey, how do you feel this morning?” he asked.

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck.”

“Want me to fix you a good hangover cure?”

She peeked at him through her fingers. “You actually know a hangover cure?”

He smiled. “You think someone like me has never been drunk?” When she bobbed her head, he laughed. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there have been many, many times I’ve woken up just as you are now.”

“That’s hard to imagine.” She gazed down at the scrubs and T-shirt she was in. Although she doubted it, she couldn’t help but ask. “Did we…”

“No, we didn’t.”

She arched her brows in surprise. “If we didn’t sleep together, then why did you…I mean, why are you in bed with me?”

“Because you begged me to stay.”

She gasped in horror. Wasn’t it enough that she had thrown herself so wantonly at him, but now she’d begged him to stay with her? “I did?”

He nodded. “You said you didn’t want to be alone.”

Vaguely she remembered pleading with him to lie close to her. What a nightmare. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” When she started to protest, he held up a hand. “I have to admit it was nice being in bed with someone again—feeling their warmth, the softness of their body as they lay beside you.” He swallowed hard. “I’ve missed that more than I knew.”

Overcome with the emotions threatening to overtake her, Megan didn’t know what to say. All she knew is she needed to get out of there. “I need to get home…or to Emma’s. I can’t let my parents think I stayed out all night with a man I just met.”

“I understand. I wouldn’t dream of compromising your reputation.”

She stared at him for a moment. Sometimes the way he spoke made it seem like he was from a different world or time period. “I, uh, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Go ahead.”

Tumbling out of the covers, she then streaked across the room. Once she closed the door behind her, she exhaled the breath she’d been holding. She made it to the toilet just in time to throw up again. She wondered after doing the same thing the night before how there was anything left in her stomach to empty. Once she finished, she leaned over the sink, pooling water in her hand before bringing it to her mouth. After gargling to rid herself of the nasty taste, she eventually dug under the counter for some mouthwash, and then brushed her teeth.

Without a hairbrush or comb, she did her best to tame her out-of-control hair. Once she surmised that she looked presentable enough to face the firing squad, aka Aidan and Emma, she left the bathroom. Pesh had thrown on some clothes and stood in the middle of the room. He raised his brows expectantly at her.

“I’m ready to go now.”

“Of course.”

When she started for the bedroom door, she abruptly stopped. “Wait, my dress?”

“I’ll send it out to be dry cleaned.”

“Oh,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

In silence, they made their way through the house. Megan tried not to be so obvious as she took in the high ceilings of the living room, the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked a large, spacious yard. Pesh had an amazing house—one that was far too big for just him. It certainly was made for a family—the one he sadly didn’t have.

As he started to open the door leading out to the garage for her, Pesh stopped and turned around. Staring intently at her, he said, “I’d like to see you again.”

Megan couldn’t help the shocked gasp that escaped her lips. She’d made a repeated fool out of herself the night before, and he still wanted to see her? “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

She gave a slight jerk of her head. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

“But why?” he countered sincerely.

With a contemptuous snort, she replied, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“If you’re alluding to the fact you accidentally got drunk last night and then became ill, that has little relevance to me. Accidents happen, and I’m man enough to realize that.” He closed the gap between them. “I liked being with you yesterday.”

Remembering what Emma had said, Megan couldn’t help asking, “You want to date me, don’t you?”

“Yes of course. What else would I want to do?”

When she replied, “Have sex,” a flush entered his cheeks.

“That is not what I meant.”

“And that’s a pity.”

His brows furrowed. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You and I…we want different things. You want to date and get married again, right?”

“Yes, that is something I desire very much.”

She shook her head. “But I don’t want to be in a serious relationship right now with you or anyone for that matter. I’m certainly not ready to get married anytime soon. I just wanted to have some fun with someone.”

Pesh frowned. “I don’t think I understand.”

“What I want from you is the same thing I wanted last night. Just sex,” she answered honestly.

“You don’t want to date me…you only want to have sex with me?”

If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Megan might’ve laughed at the horrified expression on Pesh’s face. He appeared absolutely floored that she could ever think of only using him as a sex toy. Finally, when she gathered herself together, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that’s the way I feel.”

She braced herself for some sort of wrath out of him or even a lecture. What he did was even more surprising. He gave her a sad smile. “And I’m sorry you feel that way because I would have really enjoyed getting to know you better.” Without another word, he opened the door. Always the gentleman, he waited for her to go through first.

Tucking her head to her chest, she bypassed him to walk to the car. Once again, he appeared to open the car door for her. “Thank you,” she murmured.

He nodded before walking around the front of the car. Without another word to her, Pesh cranked up, and then began backing down the driveway.

The ride to Aidan and Emma’s was only twenty minutes, but it seemed to take an eternity. The painful silence hung heavy around her. Pesh didn’t look at her. Instead, he kept his gaze firmly on the road ahead of them.

When he pulled into Aidan and Emma’s driveway, Megan felt her stomach clench. She wished there was some way to make things right between them. But she had a feeling she had gone too far and said too much. As he put the car in park, he turned to look at her. “Thank you for the ride,” she said.

“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure.”

“Most of all, I want to thank you for taking care of me last night. You truly went above and beyond. I can never thank you enough.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m glad I was able to help you.”

Nibbling on her bottom lip, she finally allowed herself to say what she was holding back on. “I wish things could be different,” she said softly.

When she dared herself to look at him, she found him staring intently at her. “I’m sorry, too. Take care of yourself. Okay?”